JP7123611B2 - vehicle lamp - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp.

In recent years, there have been proposed vehicular lamps using surface light-emitting elements such as organic electroluminescence (EL) elements (OLEDs) that emit light in a planar manner for taillights of vehicles (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

For example, Patent Literature 1 below discloses a lamp outer housing configured by a lamp housing having an opening and a cover covering the opening of the lamp housing; A light-emitting body and a semiconductor light-emitting element that is arranged inside the outer housing of the lamp and emits light toward the planar light-emitting body are provided. A vehicle lamp provided with a control layer that controls the light transmitted through the transmission layer and irradiates it as the second illumination light is described.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-192000

By the way, in the vehicle lamp described above, the planar light emitter has a curved shape so as to draw a parabola with the semiconductor light emitting element as the focal point. That is, the planar light emitter has a curved shape in accordance with the light distribution of the light (second illumination light) reflected by the control layer (reflective layer). For this reason, the light distribution of the light (first illumination light) emitted from the planar light emitter is not controlled, and the above-described light distribution characteristics of the tail lamp and the like cannot be satisfied in some cases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of such conventional circumstances. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp that enables

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
[1] a light source that emits a first light;
A reflective surface light emitting element that reflects the first light forward and emits the second light emitted in a planar manner forward,
The surface emitting element includes a flexible substrate curved concavely toward the front side, a non-light emitting surface formed by a reflecting film provided on the surface of the substrate, and a non-emitting surface formed on the reflecting film. and a light-emitting surface formed by an organic EL light-emitting element,
The light-emitting surface converges the second light emitted from the organic EL light- emitting element in a vertical cross section along the front-rear direction, and then emits the second light forward while diffusing it in the vertical direction. , has a curved concave shape,
the non-light-emitting surface has a reflecting surface formed by the reflecting film on a side where the radiation angle of the first light emitted from the light source is smaller than the light-emitting surface;
The reflecting surface is curved in a shape different from that of the light emitting surface in a vertical cross section along the front-rear direction so that the first light emitted from the light source is reflected forward by the reflecting film. A vehicle lamp, characterized by having a concave shape.
[2] The light-emitting surface condenses the second light emitted from the organic EL light- emitting element toward the vicinity of the light source in a horizontal cross section along the width direction, and then diffuses it in the horizontal direction. The vehicular lamp according to the above [1], characterized in that the lamp has a curved concave shape so that the light is emitted forward while being tilted.
[3] The non-light-emitting surface is the other lower reflecting surface in order from the side in which the radiation angle of the first light emitted from the light source is smaller than that of the light-emitting surface in a vertical cross section along the front-rear direction. and one reflective surface,
The one reflecting surface has a concave shape curved to draw a parabola with the light source as a focus,
The vehicular lamp according to [1] or [2], wherein the other reflecting surface has a concave shape curved with a constant curvature continuously from the one reflecting surface.
[4] In a horizontal cross section along the width direction, the non-light-emitting surface condenses the light reflected by the reflecting surface toward the vicinity of the light source, and then directs it forward while diffusing it in the horizontal direction. The vehicular lamp according to any one of [1] to [3], characterized in that the light has a curved concave shape so that the light is emitted through the light.
[5] the light emitting surface reflects the first light emitted from the light source forward by the reflecting film;
The second light functions as a turn lamp or a back lamp,
The vehicle lamp according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the first light functions as a brake lamp.
[6] The vehicle lamp according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the light source includes a plurality of light emitting elements.
[7] The light source according to [6] above, wherein the light source emits the first light of a different color by switching the lighting of the light emitting elements that emit different colored light among the plurality of light emitting elements. Vehicle lighting.
[8] The vehicular lamp according to any one of [1] to [7], comprising a plurality of light source units each including the light source and the surface emitting element.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle lamp capable of controlling the light distribution of the light reflected by the surface light emitting element and the light distribution of the light emitted from the surface light emitting element. It is possible to

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the front side; 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a first light source unit included in the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view showing the configuration of a first light source unit included in the vehicle lamp shown in FIG. 1;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the drawings used in the following description, the scale of dimensions may vary depending on the component in order to make it easier to see each component, and the dimensional ratio of each component may not necessarily be the same as the actual do not have.

As one embodiment of the present invention, for example, a vehicle lamp 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described.
1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the vehicle lamp 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle lamp 1 viewed from the front side. FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the configuration of the first light source unit 2A included in the vehicle lamp 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showing the configuration of the first light source unit 2A included in the vehicle lamp 1. As shown in FIG.

In the drawings shown below, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, the X-axis direction is the front-rear direction (length direction) of the vehicle lamp 1, the Y-axis direction is the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicle lamp 1, and the Z The axial direction is indicated as the vertical direction (height direction) of the vehicle lamp 1 .

The vehicular lamp 1 of this embodiment is, for example, a rear combination lamp mounted on both rear corners (left rear corners in this embodiment) of a vehicle (not shown). is applied.

In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "upper", and "lower" are used when the vehicle lamp 1 is viewed from the front (rear of the vehicle). shall mean the respective directions of Therefore, each direction when the vehicle is viewed from the front (vehicle front) is a direction in which front, rear, left, and right are reversed.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle lamp 1 includes a plurality of (two in this embodiment) light source units 2A and 2B. The vehicular lamp 1 has a first light source unit 2A and a second light source unit inside a lamp body 5 which is composed of a housing 3 whose front surface is open and a transparent lens cover 4 which covers the opening of the housing 3. 2B are arranged side by side in the width direction.

When the vehicle lamp 1 is viewed from the front, as shown in FIG. 2, the first light source unit 2A has a first light emitting area E1 divided into a first segment S1 and a second segment S2. Configure. Also, in the first light emitting area E1, the first segment S1 functions as a tail lamp (TLL) and brake lamp (BRL) that emits red light (weak light or strong light), and the second segment S2 blinks with orange light. It functions as a turn lamp (TRL).

On the other hand, the second light source unit 2B constitutes a second light emitting area E2 divided into a third segment S3 and a fourth segment S4. Further, in the second light emitting area E2, the third segment S3 functions as a tail lamp (TLL) and brake lamp (BRL) that emits red light (weak or strong light), and the fourth segment S4 functions as a backlight that emits white light. It functions as a lamp (BCL).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first light source unit 2A includes a light source 6 that emits a first light L1 and a first light source that reflects the first light L1 forward and emits planar light. and a bracket 8 for supporting the rear side of the surface light emitting element 7.

The light source 6 consists of a light emitting element 9 such as an LED (for example an SMD LED) that emits red light as the first light L1. In addition, high output type LEDs for vehicle lighting are used as LEDs. The light source 6 has a structure in which the light emitting element 9 is mounted on the surface of the circuit board 10 provided with a drive circuit for driving the light emitting element 9, and emits the first light L1 radially downward. .

The surface emitting element 7 is composed of a flexible reflective organic EL panel. The organic EL panel has a structure in which a reflective film is provided on the surface of a substrate having flexibility, and an organic EL element that emits orange light as the second light L2 is provided thereon.

The surface emitting element 7 may be of a segment type in which only one segment (organic EL element) emits light by controlling the driving voltage applied between the electrodes. Each dot ( A dot matrix method may be used in which a driving voltage applied between electrodes of an organic EL element is controlled to emit light in an arbitrary area.

The surface emitting element 7 has a reflecting surface 7a that reflects the first light L1 and a light emitting surface 7b that emits the second light L2. The reflective surface 7 a is configured by a non-light-emitting surface (reflective film) of the surface emitting element 7 . The light emitting surface 7b is composed of the organic EL element in the surface light emitting element 7. As shown in FIG. Moreover, the light emitting surface 7b has a function as the reflecting surface 7a.

The surface light emitting element 7 is arranged below the light source 6 and is curved in a concave shape toward the front side. Further, in the surface light emitting element 7, the reflecting surface 7a is located on the side where the radiation angle of the first light L1 emitted from the light source 6 is smaller than the light emitting surface 7b. That is, in the present embodiment, the reflecting surface 7a is positioned below the plane of the surface light emitting element 7, and the light emitting surface 7b is positioned above the surface of the surface emitting element 7. As shown in FIG.

The surface emitting element 7 reflects the first light L1 emitted from the light source 6 forward by the reflecting surface 7a. Thereby, the first segment S1 corresponding to the tail lamp (TLL) and brake lamp (BRL) in the first light emitting area E1 can be caused to emit red light (weak light emission or strong light emission) by the first light L1. .

On the other hand, the surface emitting element 7 emits the second light L2 forward from the light emitting surface 7b. As a result, the second segment S2 corresponding to the turn lamp (TRL) in the first light emitting area E1 can be blinked with orange light emission by the second light L2.

In addition, since the light emitting surface 7b has a function as the reflecting surface 7a, the first light L1 emitted from the light source 6 is reflected forward, thereby converting the second segment S2 into the first light L1. It is also possible to function as a brake lamp (BRL) that emits red light (strong light).

The surface light emitting element 7 has the reflecting surface 7a and the light emitting surface 7b in accordance with the light distribution of the first light L1 reflected by the reflecting surface 7a and the light distribution of the second light L2 emitted from the light emitting surface 7b. are curved in different shapes.

Specifically, the reflecting surface 7a is positioned below the light emitting surface 7b in a cross section (vertical cross section) along the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) shown in FIG. and a lower reflecting surface 7d curved with a constant curvature continuously below the upper reflecting surface 7c.

As a result, in the surface emitting element 7, the first light L1 incident on the upper reflecting surface 7c of the reflecting surfaces 7a is collimated and reflected forward, and the first light L1 incident on the lower reflecting surface 7d is reflected forward. It is possible to reflect the light L1 toward the front obliquely upward side.

On the other hand, the reflective surface 7a has a curved concave shape so that its condensing point (focus) is located near the light source 6 in the cross section (horizontal cross section) along the width direction (Y-axis direction) shown in FIG. have. As a result, the surface emitting element 7 converges the first light L1 incident on the reflecting surface 7a toward the vicinity of the light source 6, and then diffuses it in the horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) while directing it forward. It is possible to reflect

On the other hand, the light emitting surface 7b has a concave shape curved with a constant curvature in a cross section (vertical cross section) along the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) shown in FIG. As a result, in the surface light emitting element 7, after condensing the second light L2 emitted from the light emitting surface 7b, it is possible to emit it forward while diffusing it in the vertical direction (X-axis direction). is.

On the other hand, the light-emitting surface 7b has a curved concave shape so that its condensing point (focus) is located near the light source 6 in the cross section (horizontal cross section) along the width direction (Y-axis direction) shown in FIG. have. As a result, the surface light emitting element 7 converges the second light L2 emitted from the light emitting surface 7b toward the vicinity of the light source 6, and then spreads it forward while diffusing it in the horizontal direction (Y-axis direction). It is possible to emit toward

The bracket 8 has an abutment surface 8 a that abuts against the back surface of the surface light emitting element 7 and supports the back side of the surface light emitting element 7 . The shape of the contact surface 8a of the bracket 8 is set according to the curved shapes of the reflecting surface 7a and the light emitting surface 7b described above. Therefore, by arranging the surface light emitting element 7 along the contact surface 8a, it is possible to maintain the curved shape of the reflecting surface 7a and the light emitting surface 7b.

The second light source unit 2B has basically the same structure as the first light source unit 2A. Therefore, detailed description of the structure of the second light source unit 2B will be omitted.

On the other hand, the second light source unit 2B uses a light emitting element 9 (light source 6) that emits red light as the first light L1. Moreover, the surface emitting element 7 which emits white light is used as the second light L2.

In the second light source unit 2B, the surface emitting element 7 reflects the first light L1 emitted from the light source 6 forward by the reflecting surface 7a. Thereby, the third segment S3 corresponding to the tail lamp (TLL) and brake lamp (BRL) in the second light emitting area E2 can be caused to emit red light (weak light emission or strong light emission) by the first light L1. .

On the other hand, in the second light source unit 2B, the surface light emitting element 7 emits the second light L2 forward from the light emitting surface 7b. Thereby, the fourth segment S4 corresponding to the back lamp (BCL) in the second light emitting area E2 can be caused to emit white light by the second light L2.

Further, in the second light source unit 2B, the surface light emitting element 7 has a light distribution of the first light L1 reflected by the reflecting surface 7a and a light distribution of the second light L2 emitted from the light emitting surface 7b. In addition, the reflecting surface 7a and the light emitting surface 7b are curved in different shapes.

In addition, since the light emitting surface 7b has a function as the reflecting surface 7a, the first light L1 emitted from the light source 6 is reflected forward, so that the second segment S4 becomes the first light L1. It is also possible to function as a brake lamp (BRL) that emits red light (strong light).

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 1 of the present embodiment, the first light reflected by the surface light emitting element 7 (reflecting surface 7a) constituting the first light source unit 2A and the second light source unit 2B is It is possible to control the light distribution of L1 and the light distribution of the second light L2 emitted from the surface light emitting element 7 (light emitting surface 7b). Thus, in the vehicle lamp 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain optimum light distribution characteristics for each of the tail lamp (TLL), brake lamp (BRL), turn lamp (TRL), and back lamp (BCL). .

It should be noted that the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, the light source 6 may have a configuration in which a plurality of light emitting elements 9 are arranged on the surface of the circuit board 10 . Alternatively, by switching the lighting of the light emitting elements 9 that emit different colored light among the plurality of light emitting elements 9, the first light L1 of different colored light may be emitted.

Further, the light source 6 may be one that emits the first light L1 radially, and a light-emitting element 9 such as a laser diode (LD), for example, can be used in addition to the above-described LED.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the above-described rear combination lamp is exemplified. It is also possible to combine with members.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a rear combination lamp. It is also possible to apply the present invention to lighting fixtures.

In addition, in the vehicle lamp to which the present invention is applied, it is possible to appropriately change the number of light source units, the shape of the segments in the light emitting area, the color of the emitted light, etc., according to the design of the actual vehicle or interior of the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Vehicle lamp 2A... 1st light source unit 2B... 2nd light source unit 3... Housing 4... Lens cover 5... Lamp body 6... Light source 7... Surface light emitting element 7a... Reflective surface 7b... Light emitting surface 8... Bracket 9 Light-emitting element 10 Circuit board L1 First light L2 Second light E1 First light-emitting area E2 Second light-emitting area S1 First segment S2 Second segment S3 Third Segment S4... Fourth segment TLL... Tail lamp BRL... Brake lamp TRL... Turn lamp BCL... Back lamp

Claims (8)

a light source that emits the first light;
A reflective surface light emitting element that reflects the first light forward and emits the second light emitted in a planar manner forward,
The surface emitting element includes a flexible substrate curved concavely toward the front side, a non-light emitting surface formed by a reflecting film provided on the surface of the substrate, and a non-emitting surface formed on the reflecting film. and a light-emitting surface formed by an organic EL light-emitting element,
The light-emitting surface converges the second light emitted from the organic EL light- emitting element in a vertical cross section along the front-rear direction, and then emits the second light forward while diffusing it in the vertical direction. , has a curved concave shape,
the non-light-emitting surface has a reflecting surface formed by the reflecting film on a side where the radiation angle of the first light emitted from the light source is smaller than the light-emitting surface;
The reflecting surface is curved in a shape different from that of the light emitting surface in a vertical cross section along the front-rear direction so that the first light emitted from the light source is reflected forward by the reflecting film. A vehicle lamp, characterized by having a concave shape. In a horizontal cross section along the width direction, the light emitting surface converges the second light emitted from the organic EL light emitting element toward the vicinity of the light source, and then spreads it forward while diffusing it in the horizontal direction. 2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the vehicular lamp has a curved concave shape so that the light is emitted toward. The non-light-emitting surface has, in a vertical cross section along the front-rear direction, the other reflecting surface and the one reflecting surface in order from the side where the radiation angle of the first light emitted from the light source is smaller than that of the light-emitting surface. having a surface and
The one reflecting surface has a concave shape curved to draw a parabola with the light source as a focus,
3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the other reflecting surface is continuous with the one reflecting surface and has a concave shape curved with a constant curvature. In a horizontal cross section along the width direction, the non-light-emitting surface converges the light reflected by the reflecting surface toward the vicinity of the light source, and then emits the light forward while diffusing it in the horizontal direction. 4. The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has a curved concave shape. the light emitting surface reflects the first light emitted from the light source forward by the reflective film,
The second light functions as a turn lamp or a back lamp,
The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first light functions as a brake lamp. The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the light source includes a plurality of light emitting elements. 7. The vehicular lamp according to claim 6, wherein the light source emits first light of different colors by switching lighting of light emitting elements that emit different colored light among the plurality of light emitting elements. The vehicle lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a plurality of light source units each including the light source and the surface emitting element.

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